Tapered roofing shingle



April 28, 1931. H. c. AVERY TAPERED ROOFING SHINGLE Filed Feb. 16, 1925 Patented Apr. 28, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HENRY C. AVERY, OFNEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOB, BY MFSNE ASSIG N- MENTS, TO THE PATENT AND LICENSING CORPORATION, OF BOSTON, MASSACHU- SETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS TAPERED noorme SHINGLE Application filed February 16, 1925. Serial No. 9,483.

This invention relates to a taperedroofing shingle and the method of producing the same from a slab comprising a fibrous foundation of rag felt, asbestos fibre, wood fibre or mixed fibres into which has preferably been incorporated a suitable waterproofing material such as asphalt. The slabs are cut from a sheet board formed on a paper-making machine, the fibres thereof thus being felted and compacted so as to impart .to the board the strength, density and other, desirable characteristics of a roofingshingle. The waterproofing material may be incorporated into the furnish from i which the board is made, or the board may first be made and then be suitably saturated with the waterproofing material.

Waterproof board when made on any one of the well known types of paper machines is of a uniform thickness and shingles as commonly cut therefrom therefore possess certain undesirable characteristics. Such shingles when laid in overlapping courses leave spaces above the upper edges of the roof. They must be somewhat flexible to permit them to be bent over the u per edges of and to lie flat against the sur aces shingles are liable to be raised by the wind permitting. the rain and snow to beat in under them and rendering them liable to be torn off, both of which decrease the weatherproofing capabilities of the roof. Moreover, such shingles must be made relatively thin in order to provide the necessary degree of flexibility and hence present a flat unsubstantial appearance on the roof.

Tapered shingles obviate the .above men-, tioned difliculties since they-may be made more rigid and thicker at their exposed edges than can the usual shingles cut from fibrous felted material and give a more plegsing and substantial appearance to the roo The object of this invention is to produce a tapered shingle advantageously and economically from a waterproof sheet board made on a paper-making machine whereby paper-making machine speed in manufacshingles between the overlying shingles and of the shingles beneath them. Flexible.

turing can be combined with the advantages incident to tapered shingles. This object is attained by cutting the waterproof board into slabs and splitting each slab along a diagonal plane so as to form two tapered shingles from each slab.

Other advantages are attained by this invention as will be subsequently pointed out.

On the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 represents a slab of material before splitting.

Figure 2 is a similar .view, dotted lines showing the plane along which the slab is to be split.

Figure. 3 shows in perspective the two shingles formed by so splitting the slab.

Figure 4 illustrates the appearance of a shingle with its portion exposed to the weather when laid, coated with a layer of asphalt.

Figure 5 shows the exposed portion of the shingle surfaced with a layer of grit on the asphalt coating. 1

the shingle with its exposed portion coated with colored asphalt or similar material. Figure 7 shows the shingle copper-plated on its exposed portion.

The slab 1 in Figure 1 may be cut from a sheet board produced on any one of the well known types of paper making ma- Figure 6 illustrates the appearance ofchines. As well known in the paper-making industry, paper or board which is made on paper-making machines has certain well defined characteristics. Such paper or boardis composed of relatively short fibers which are deposited on the wire screen in the machine in such a way as to lie in all directions in the sheetand to be interfelted. As a result of the interlacing or felting of the fibers on the paper-making machine, the sheet is vastly stronger than a pressed or molded sheet of thesame thickness and material would be. There is also a tendency on the part of the fibers which are deposited on thewire screen to arrange themselves in such a way that a predominating number of them extend in a general direction a proxithe machine. This tends to give a certain amount-of grain to the paper or board, the presence of which is readily noticeable when one attempts to tear tissue paper for example in more than one direction. The board should preferably be of a thickness equal to the sum of the thicknesses of the butt and thin ends of the shingle to be produced, and the area of a face F of a slab cuttherefrom should be equal to the surface area of said shingle.

As illustrated in Figure 2 the slab is skived on a diagonal plane determined by diagonals AC and BD intersecting the end E on the line CD parallel and relatively close to one face and intersecting the end E on the line AB. parallel and relatively close to its opposite face, the distance from the line CD to one face being preferably equal to the distance from line AB to theopposite face and determining the thickness of the thin end of the shingle, and the distance from line CD to the opposite face being equal to the distance from AB to the one face and determining the butt end thickness. This skiving or splitting whiclrma'y be accomplished by the use of suitable means. as for example, a rotating disk or band knife,

"and simultaneously forms two shingles, 2

and 3, of equal dimensions as shown in Figure 3 by a single operation without producing any trimmings or waste material. The plane of the cut is at an angle to the direction in which the fibres were laid down and interfelte'd during the sheet board formation on the paper making machine so that the fibres are cut across, exposing the cut ends on the surface which may thus be rougher than the uncut surfaces. This face presents a pleasing appearance and is also desirable if a subsequent coating of the shingle is later resorted to as will presently be described.

As shown in Figure 4 the portion of the shingle exposed to the weather when laid may be coated with relatively high melting point asphalt, e. g. blown asphalt or other bituminous material, as by dipping into such material while in a molten condition. This material may be colored if desired as indicated in Figure 6. This coating seals the fibres against access by moisture, affording greater protection against deterioration due to weathering, and somewhat thickens the exposed butt ends. The increased thickness of the butt ends gives a more pleasing and substantial appearance to the roof. The roughened surface of the shingle resulting from the skiving of the slab makes possible a good bond between the shingle body and the asphalt coating, the fibre ends at the surface of the shingle being firmly embedded in the asphalt'which grips them tenaciously, the material between the fibres being permitted to coalesce with and thus unite integrally -with the coating. If desired the shingle may be further surfaced with a layer of crushed slate or other grit G partially embedded therein after the coating operation, as shown in Figure 5, giving an ornamental appearance to the finished product, increasing its fire resistant properties, imparting additional rigidity thereto, affording a more adequate protection against; deterioration due to moisture and weather, and further increasing the butt end thickness'ofthe shingle.

Or the exposed portion of the shingle may be coated with metal such as copper, as by the electro deposition of such metalthereon as shown in Figure 7. The metal coating may be applied directly to the exposed portion of the uncoated shingle, to this portion after it has been dipped into suitable bituminous material, or to this portion after it has been dipped into suitable material and surfaced with crushed grit. The surface to be coated may be rendered conductive by covering it with graphite, carbon or other electro-conductive material. Instead of thus producing an electro-conductive surface, one may, if it is desired to deposit the metal directly on the fibrous material, incorporate into the furnish from which the board is made an approximate amount of conductive material, such as carbon, so that the shingles formed therefrom are sufficiently electroconductive to permit electro-deposition of copper or other suitable metal on their surfaces.

1. The method of forming shingles having a fibrous foundation and containing waterproofing material, which consists in producing a sheet board of substantially uniform thickness on a paper making machine, cutting said board into slabs equal in area to that of the shingle, and skiving said slabs on a diagonal plane from end to end, to form two tapered shingles from each slab.

2. The method of producing shingles tapering in thickness and having a felted fibrous foundation containing waterproofing material which comprises producing unit slabs of such material equal in area to that of a shingle and of a thickness substantially equal to the sum of the thicknesses of butt and thin ends of a desired shingle, and splitting said slabs along diagonal planes from end to end to produce two shingles from each.

3. The method of producing shingles tapering in thickness and having a felted fibrous foundation containing Waterproofing material which comprises producing slabs of such material each equal in area to that of a shingle and of a substantially uniform thickness equal to the sum of the thicknesses of butt and thin ends of a desired shingle, splitting said slabs diagonally to produce two shingles from each, and coating with bituminous material the portions of the shingles exposed to the weather when laid.

4. The method of producing shingles tapering in thickness and having a felted fi .brous foundation which comprises producing slabs each of a substantially uniform thickness equal to the sum of the thicknesses of butt and thin ends of the desired shingle, splitting said slabs diagonally to produce two shingles from each, coating the portions of a shingle exposed when laid with bituminous material, and embedding grit in said coating.

5. The method of forming tapered shingles having a felted fibrous foundation which consists in felting pulp stock into a sheet board of such material of a substantially uniform thickness equal to the sum of shingle, cutting said board into slabs each equal in area to that oi a desired shingle and splitting each of said slabs along a diagonal plane.

In testimony whereof I have aifixed my signature.

HENRY C. AVERY. 

